“Hopefully this will help explain what Liquefaction is, and how it occurred during the earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand,” writes YouTuber ArgentumNZ.

“Digging out the sand that was brought to the surface and deposited via Liquefaction and wheel-barrowing it out to the roadside. Watch how the saturated sand, under vibration, takes on the characteristics of a liquid ( it doesn’t change to a liquid, but behaves like one) and then returns to a solid state once the movement ends. This is what happened in the earthquakes of Sept 4th and Feb 22nd in Christchurch New Zealand and results in instability under buildings and causes them to move or, ultimately, collapse.”

This has been a soul-crushing Minnesota winter but at least we don’t have to worry a great deal about earthquakes and liquefaction. The largest quake in Minnesota, according to the United States Geological Society, hit the western part of the state in 1975, and “caused minor damage to walls and foundations of basements in Stevens County around Morris.”